Stack-chair dolly

ABSTRACT

A stack-chair dolly for transporting a stack of chairs nested one above the other, and defining a main roll-about frame having a forwardly projecting support frame secured to the main frame, the support frame being located and dimensioned for being inserted between pairs of side legs on the lowermost chair and under a seat on the latter so as to lift the stack of chairs when the main frame is tilted rearwardly about wheels of the dolly, whereby the stack of chairs may be readily transported from place to place, the support frame being insertable from the rear of the stack and the main frame defining a cradle to prevent the chairs from shifting laterally during transportation.

United States Patent 3,102,733 9/1963 Burnett 280/36 3,424,327 1/1969 Alana etal 214/384 FOREIGN PATENTS 644,108 10/1950 Great Britain 280/47. 1 8

Primary Examiner-Leo F riaglia Assistant ExaminerL. .l. Paperner Attorney-Joseph F. Cole ABSTRACT: A stack-chair dolly for transporting a stack of chairs nested one above the other, and defining a main rollabout frame having a forwardly projecting support frame secured to the main frame, the support frame being located and dimensioned for being inserted between pairs of side legs on the lowermost chair and under a seat on the latter so as to lift the stack of chairs when the main frame is tilted rearwardly about wheels of the dolly, whereby the stack of chairs may be readily transported from place to place, the support frame being lnsertable from the rear of the stack and the main frame defining a cradle to prevent the chairs from shifting laterally during transportation.

SHEET 20F PATENTEUUCT 12 ml INVENTOR.

N A M R s M W Z E m M A TORNEY STACK-CHAIR DOLLY SUMMARY It is a well-known fact that stack-chairs are used in auditoriums and assembly halls, etc., of schools, hotels and the like, and these chairs must be moved from place to place, depending upon the requirements, and often this is a time-consuming task.

As the cardinal object of this invention, it is proposed to provide a dolly that may be used for moving large stacks of the such chairs while they remain in stack formation.

More particularly stated, it is proposed to provide a stackchair dolly provided with a pair of spaced wheels at the lower end of a main frame, and a forwardly-projecting support frame is secured to the main frame and being located and dimensioned for being inserted between pairs of depending legs on the lowermost chair in the stack from the rear of the stack, whereby the legs of the latter chair will clear the floor or other supporting surface, when the main frame is tilted rearwardly about an axle of the wheels, whereby the stack of chairs may be readily transported from place to place.

As a further object of the invention, it is proposed to provide the main frame with a pair of spaced side members defining a cradle for receiving and engaging with the back rests of the stacked chairs so as to prevent the chairs from shifting laterally during transportation.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds, and the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of the invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of my stack-chair dolly DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be noted that a main frame designated generally at A is provided with a pair of spaced wheels 10 at its bottom that are movable over a floor B, or other supporting surface. These wheels are mounted on an axle 11 that is journaled in a horizontal tube 12, the latter being secured to the lower ends of the side members C of the main frame. The main frame is further provided with a handgrasping handle D at its top.

Moreover, a forwardly-projecting inflexible support frame E is rigidly secured to the main frame C at an elevation above the wheels 10, the support frame being located and dimensioned for being inserted between pairs of legs 13 disposed at the opposite lateral sides of the chairs F, and more particularly the lowermost chair in the stack. As shown in FIG. 2, these chairs are nested one above the other, each chair having a seat 14 and a back rest 15.

The support frame E is inserted from the rear of the stack and under the seat 14 of the lowermost chair F, while the legs 13 of this chair rest on the floor B, or other supporting surface, as shown in FIG. 2. Thus, the stack of chairs will be lifted until the legs 13 clear the floor, as shown in FIG. 4, when the main frame A is tilted rearwardly about the axle 11, whereby the stack of chairs F may be transported from place to place.

It will be seen from FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 that the spaced side members C of the main frame A define a cradle for receiving and engaging with the back rests 15 of the stacked chairs F so as to prevent the chairs from shifting laterally during transportation.

Each side member C of the main frame has a lower section 16 that is secured at its bottom to the horizontal tube 12, and an intermediate section 17 of each side member extends upwardly and rearwardly from the lower section 16. Furthermore, each side member C has an upper section 18 extending upwardly and rearwardly from the intermediate section 17, while a horizontal member 19 forming the handle D is secured to the tops of the upper sections. Transverse braces 20 and 21 are provided between upper and lower sections, respectively, of the side members C to provide reinforcement. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the support frame E is disposed substantially at right angles relative to the intermediate sections 17 of the main frame A so as to abut flat against the seat 14 of the lowermost chair F in the stack, when the chair backs 15 rest against the main frame and the chairs are lifted, thereby providing unyielding support for the chairs.

As clearly illustrated in FIG. 2, the transverse handle member 19 is located so as to be positioned rearwardly of the back rests 15 of upper chairs Pin the stack, whereby a person may grasp the handle member without obstructions by the back rests.

Referring to FIG. 3, it will be observed that the support frame E is substantially U-shaped as viewed from above and defining a pair of side elements 22 having their rear ends secured to the side members C of the main frame, and the support frame further defines a horizontal transverse element 23 interconnecting the front ends of the side elements 22 of the support frame. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the side elements 22 of the support frame E are spaced inwardly from the wheels 10 so as to define spaces into which the legs 13 of the lower chairs F in the stack may depend and be accommodated. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wheels are disposed to serve as barriers to prevent those legs adjacent to the wheels from striking obstructions during transporting of the stacked chairs. Braces 24 extend from side elements 22 to lower sections 16 to support the frame E.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the dolly may be turned upside down so that a garbage can G, or the like, may be carried on the dolly, with the support frame E being located under the main frame A, the main frame at this time being swingable about the axle ll of the wheels 10 until the horizontal transverse element 23 of the support frame rests 'on the floor B, or other supporting surface, thereby precluding the dolly from falling over in a rearward direction. When the handle D is raised, the support frame E will move from the dot-dash line position shown in FIG. 6 into the full line position, and thus the dolly may be rolled about while supporting the garbage can, or the like.

The angular relationship of the lower sections 16 of the side members C with respect to the intermediate sections I7 is such that the wheels 10 will be disposed under the stack of chairs F, when the dolly is swung into transporting position, as shown in FIG. 4; and, also, the lower sections 16 will be inclined so as to straddle the lower part of the garbage can G to hold the latter in place on the dolly, when the dolly in inverted, as shown in FIG. 5.

Iclaim:

1. A stack-chair dolly for transporting a stack of chairs nested one above the other, each chair being provided with a seat, a back rest and a pair of legs depending from each lateral side of the seat, the dolly comprising:

a. a main frame provided with a pair of spaced wheels at its bottom movable over a floor or other supporting surface, the main frame further being provided with a hand-grasping handle at its top;

b. a forwardly-projecting inflexible support frame rigidly secured to the main frame at an elevation above the wheels, the support frame being located and dimensioned the main frame having a pair of spaced side members defining a cradle for receiving and engaging with the back rests of the stacked chairs so as to prevent the chairs from shifting laterally during transportation;

. each side member of the main frame defining a lower section secured at its bottom to a horizontal tube in which the axle of the wheels is joumaled each side member further defining an intermediate section extending upwardly and rearwardly from the lower section, and said support frame being disposed substantially at right angles relative to the intermediate sections of the main frame so as to abut flat against the seat of lowermost chair in the stack, when the back rests bear against the main frame and the chairs are lifted, thereby providing unyielding support for the stack of chairs.

. The stack-chair dolly, as set forth in claim 1, and in which the support frame defines a pair of side elements that are spaced inwardly from the wheels so as to define spaces into which the legs of the lower chairs in the stack may depend and be accommodated, the wheels being disposed to serve as barriers to prevent those legs adjacent to the wheels from striking obstructions during transporting of the stacked chairs. 

1. A stack-chair dolly for transporting a stack of chairs nested one above the other, each chair being provided with a seat, a back rest and a pair of legs depending from each lateral side of the seat, the dolly comprising: a. a main frame provided with a pair of spaced wheels at its bottom movable over a floor or other supporting surface, the main frame further being provided with a hand-grasping handle at its top; b. a forwardly-projecting inflexible support frame rigidly secured to the main frame at an elevation above the wheels, the support frame being located and dimensioned for being inserted between the pair of side legs of the lowermost chair in the stack from the rear of the stack and under the seat of the lowermost chair so as to lift the stack of chairs until the legs of the lowermost chair clear the floor or other supporting surface, when the main frame is tilted rearwardly about an axle of the wheels, whereby the stack of chairs may be transported from place to place; c. the main frame having a pair of spaced side members defining a cradle for receiving and engaging with the back rests of the stacked chairs so as to prevent the chairs from shifting laterally during transportation; d. each side member of the main frame defining a lower section secured at its bottom to a horizontal tube in which the axle of the wheels is journaled each side member further defining an intermediate section extending upwardly and rearwardly from the lower section, and said support frame being disposed substantially at right angles relative to the intermediate sections of the main frame so as to abut flat against the seat of lowermost chair in the stack, when the back rests bear against the main frame and the chairs are lifted, thereby providing unyielding support for the stack of chairs.
 2. The stack-chair dolly, as set forth in claim 1, e. and in which the support frame defines a pair of side elements that are spaced inwardly from the wheels so as to define spaces into which the legs of the lower chairs in the stack may depend and be accommodated, the wheels being disposed to serve as barriers to prevent those legs adjacent to the wheels from striking obstructions during transporting of the stacked chairs. 